Are You a Lawless Christian?

We are blessed to live in a country where it is acceptable to be called a Christian. The founding of our country was based in law that is enshrined in our constitution and other founding documents, but these documents were influenced by the moral and ethical principles that are found in the Ten Commandments. In fact, these Ten Commandments can be found displayed in courtrooms and other government offices. The Ten Commandments were given to Moses (Exodus 20) for the Jewish people to follow. In fact, all of the Old Testament is full of stories about how people struggled with keeping these commandments, how they expanded on them with other rules of how to live in their society and were given hope of a new way of living that was to come in what we call the New Testament. In fact, all of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament except for the fourth Commandment about remembering the Sabbath to keep it Holy. We seem to have been released from this command (Colossians 2:16) because of Jesus who is Lord of the Sabbath (Hebrews 4:1-11).

To be a good citizen of the United States we must follow all the laws so that our government considers us “good” citizens. Is that true? Perhaps, but because our laws are made for the people and by the people they can change, they can be ignored and they can be found wrong. We have Judges and courts just like there were in Israel during Jesus’ time, and we are subject to the same misuse and abuse of the law just like in Jesus’ time.

So, what of the Ten Commandments and following them as “Christians”? There are many Christians who know of the Ten Commandments and try as best as they can to follow them. They pray to God when they recognize that they might have broken one and then go on with their life. They may think to themselves that they will be saved, because they have been a “good” citizen and a “good” Christian. They even keep the fourth commandment by sometimes attending church on the Sabbath. When we do that, aren’t we doing exactly the same as the Israelites were doing up to the time of Christ? Is that all it takes to be a Christian? You obey the Law like a Pharisee but are in danger of heresy for your “beliefs,” because you might still be sinning in the eyes of God (Romans 6:14).

We can think of many situations where adhering to the “law,” whether a citizen or a Christian, might put yourself or someone else in danger or cause hurt in some way. What if there is a “No Swimming” sign, and you see someone drowning – you shouldn’t break the law? What if your neighbor tells you they are cheating on their spouse – you surely don’t want to meddle in their business.  What if you inadvertently made a mistake that unknowingly caused hurt to someone else – you wouldn’t tell them or would you? Would Jesus want us to take action in such cases?

God is our ruler. We should know His “rules” but He does not force us to obey them. God’s desire is to be the ruler of our hearts.  Obedience to His law is because of Faith in our hearts (Romans 3:31). We must be led by Faith because we know that without Faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). As a Christian we need to have less Law and more Faith. The relationship to God is our aim, not adherence to the law.

If you want to be a “Law-less” Christian the Disciple group suggests that you read the Faith chapter in your Bible (Hebrews 11). This chapter teaches us all about people of Faith and how our Faith is developed through our relationship with God and by the actions we take out of the love in our hearts.

If you want to further your relationship with Jesus please consider joining us in the Disciple Group. Ask Pastor Gary to get in touch with us.